Justin Wilcox talks Fernando Mendoza transfer, says there's no panic
The Cal head coach had some thoughts on some of the various topics on the minds of Cal fans.
Justin Wilcox chatted with the media in the pre-LA Bowl press conference. Here are some of the more interesting questions and answers below.
On Fernando Mendoza’s decision to transfer
Yeah, I'll keep all the discussions private. I think that's best. [Am I] Surprised? Disappointed, for sure. I don't think that anything surprises me anymore in college football. We did our best. He came in here out of Miami and, you know, made his way into the starting lineup a year ago and started 18 games and gave us everything he had.
We did our best to support and promote Fernando. We did everything we could do to keep him, and, as I mentioned, these guys have just tough decisions to make. And I empathize with players in this era because there's a lot going on. It's very, very complicated. We don't have enough time to talk through it and I don't necessarily think it [would] beproductive to talk through it. But nothing really surprises me anymore.
Fernando Mendoza releases official statement on entering the transfer portal
Fernando Mendoza officially announced his decision to enter the transfer portal just moments ago. He thanked his teammates, the Cal coaching staff, and the Cal community for his time in Berkeley. He reflected deeply on his time with the Bears, an made the decision for the sake of his football future.
On new offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin
I would just encourage everybody to, you know, get verify the source, get the real thing. Obviously, you know, people can write anything they want to write. I trust Bryan Harsin. I know our administration did their due diligence with everybody they needed to speak with and got unbelievably glowing, glowing reports.
Bryan Harsin is a proven offensive coordinator. He's been an extremely successful head coach. He's got a massive football acumen and knows a lot in football. And he is extremely competitive and is eager and itching to coach again. And he's going to be really good for our team. You can be really good for our offense. He has developed exceptional quarterbacks. He's put points up and he's going to be great for our defensive coaches and our special teams coaches.
So we are very, very fortunate to have Bryan here and looking for. He just got here today and he's hit the ground running and we're working.
Cal Football: Bryan Harsin Officially Announced as New Offensive Coordinator
As speculated earlier, Cal has officially announced the hiring of former Auburn and Boise State HC Bryan Harsin.
On what Harsin will bring to the offense
Every single player in position is going to know exactly what to do. Brian is extremely detailed. He's demanding. He’s a very good systematic coach.
I mean, I used to coach against him in practice. And the thing that he was always so good at is, you know, the game plan, the kind of specific little small things that are gameplan specific, getting a certain player a ball and a certain coverage, getting his best matchup the ball.
Still having the ability to use tempo, for example, or the RPO game, all that's built into the system. But it's those game plan specific things of utilizing your best players to do what they do best.And I always thought that was really, really impressive.
The guys are going to know what to do. They're going to play with toughness. We're going to run the football. We're going to throw the football. There's going to be multiple formations in position groups, and it's going to be easy to learn. It'll be freshmen and transfer friendly, in terms of learning for the offense but very challenging for the defense. This is the track record calling plays, developing quarterbacks, recruiting quarterbacks, the program knowledge that he's had from different stops.
Bryan Harsin: Good idea? Bad idea?
Reliable reporting has linked Bryan Harsin to Cal’s open offensive coordinator position, and so far he’s the only candidate with actual reporting attached to it. So, at the risk of jumping the gun, I think it’s worth taking a look at what Bryan Harsin might bring to Berkeley if this reporting ends up coming true.
On the state of the program
There's some things that we have control over and some things that we don't have control over. We feel really good about the opportunities for guys to come join the team. That's the thing we do have control over is who's coming in.
We feel really good about a couple quarterbacks that we have in the room. We also feel really good about the prospects that we're talking to. This is college football and this is how it is now. It's not like it used to be when a new coach would come in. And the room kind of is what it is.
Things are in flux right now, but there is no panic and there's a lot of excitement because we have backing from the university. We have resources. We're going to have an unbelievable staff, who has proven recruiters and coaches. So it's been very well received in terms of these recruiting conversations and the retention with our current players and what's going to happen moving forward.
Cal wide receivers coach Burl Toler announces departure
After the shocking turn of Fernando Mendoza entering the transfer portal this morning, another little piece of change has dropped. Cal wide receivers coach Burl Toler III announced on Twitter that he will no longer be part of the Golden Bear coaching staff.
On how bowl prep is going on the offensive side
It'll be a collaborative effort. We got guys on the offense right now that are working it, and it's gone really smoothly. So [Bryan] will not be a part of bowl pre. He's here to support the guys on the team currently. We're recruiting heavily. We're having a lot of meetings with our own players. So he's got a lot to do. We got a couple more coaches that we're speaking with. So he's got a lot to do. But there's other coaches on the offensive staff that it'll be a collaborative effort during the game.
The Calgorithm Presents: The LA Bowl
Although he never played for Cal, many know that—aside from being a USAA member—Gronk’s truest desire is to be a Golden Bear. X user @wokemobfootball offers a glimmer of what could be during the upcoming Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk.
On players available
The offensive line looks pretty good today. We had a lot of the same bodies, minus Nick Morrow. The Jet [Jaivian Thomas] was back out there full speed. He had a couple great runs in. [Sioape Vatikani and Bastian Swinney] as well.
On the starting quarterback for the LA Bowl
During the game, we got a couple of guys on our staff who are working in practice, run and pass game. So we got some great support there. And right now, C.J. [Harris] and EJ [Caminong] are taking a majority of the reps. Chandler [Rogers] is day to day. So, we'll see how he's doing tomorrow. He did a little more today and threw the ball. So, it'd be great to get him back in the mix as well.
Agree that at this point it is about winning, but I thought it was a very good interview and Wilcox had good things to say. He certainly was a lot calmer than after some our our painful losses, knowing that small errors were the difference between winning and losing.
Wilcox has historically been very loyal to his assistants, sometimes to the detriment of the program. I see a change in him. Coaches are now as accountable as players. When he talked about Harsin's attention to detail and that Harsin will make sure the players will know the system and their assignments, it makes me think that Bloesch had some issues with this. If anyone knows Chris Petersen's offensive system, he uses motion to create mismatches. Harsin runs that system. Should be a big upgrade from what we have.
Also, if rumors are true that we've targeted a great QB and have the money to pay him, then it explains why Mendoza left. I am a huge fan of Nando and he played brilliantly at CAL because of his work ethic and smarts, but he has a ceiling because of his athletic ability. Sam Jackson was the opposite, great athletic ability but didn't put in the time or have the smarts to succeed at QB. If we get a QB similar to Cam Ward or Dylan Gabriel, it would be amazing. We'll see.
At this point, it’s all noise. Winning is the only metric that matters. Do that and we’re golden. Don’t do it and you should look for the nearest door.
We give these coaches far too much money and leeway to let them fuck around and squander the talent we get.